An Interview with Miranda Lambert

As outspoken as she is talented, country music star Miranda Lambert opens up about her tough childhood, the bumpy path to becoming Mrs. Blake Shelton, and her favorite Thanksgiving tradition (recipe included!)

She may proudly proclaim herself to be "an East Texas redneck girl," but Grammy Award — winning star Miranda Lambert, 28, has a lifestyle that seems pretty much standard-issue for Anytown, U.S.A. The 5' 4", size-8 musician shops for clothes at Target and Forever 21 and buys makeup at Walgreens, but indulges the occasional urge to splurge on luxuries like Coach bags and Chanel sunglasses in her favorite color, pink. She watches reality show marathons and was obsessed with The Hunger Games, but found the third installment of Fifty Shades of Grey a bit tedious. And though she works out regularly while listening to Beyoncé and Britney Spears, Lambert would much rather be eating chips or sipping a convenience store Cosmopolitan she calls "the Mirandarita."

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"It's Bacardi Light with Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade and a splash of Sprite Zero," she says with a grin. "Low-calorie, low-sodium, no carbs, no caffeine — it's practically a health drink!"

Lambert may sound as down-home normal as the next girl, but her life is anything but. Arguably the most successful female singer-songwriter in country music these days, with a slew of platinum records, she now balances her hectic schedule as a red-hot solo artist and member of all-girl group the Pistol Annies with her new role as a young bride. On May 14, 2011, Lambert tied the knot with Blake Shelton, the good-looking, equally crazy-busy crooner who's become a household name as a coach on NBC's hit singing competition The Voice . Following their countrified wedding (they exchanged vows under an arch of antlers), they spent three days back on their ranches in Oklahoma. (Between them, Shelton and Lambert — who was raised on a farm from age 10 onward — own more than 4,000 acres. "We don't buy Mercedeses or mansions," she declares. "We buy land.") After a quick honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico, they were back at work again.

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"We've been married almost a year and a half, but have only been in the same place together for about five months," Lambert laments. "At this rate, we'll be newlyweds for three years."

Which is just fine with her, thank you. "Blake's 90% good ol' boy and 10% bad boy, which is a really great balance," says Lambert, who is fully aware that Shelton is now a bona fide sex symbol. "I'm flattered that people think he's attractive. It's cool to be on his arm, like, 'I'm with him,' " she laughs devilishly. " 'So back up, ladies!' "

Lambert has good reason to revel in this bliss. She's worked hard for everything she has. Having watched her parents lose their house when she was a young girl, she learned an important lesson: Faith, hard work, and perseverance can see you through anything, whether it's a tough childhood or a marriage complicated by the logistics of two prosperous careers. She may look like a country cream puff at first glance, but Lambert's a steel magnolia to the core — committed to hard work, regular prayer, and protecting those closest to her. And there's no doubt it's paying off.

It's mid-afternoon, and Lambert, who's visiting New York City, has already sung on Good Morning America and performed with the Pistol Annies on The View. She's now tucked in a chair in the lobby of a swank hotel, with her new Coach handbag parked next to her. "I had a fake snakeskin purse that was falling apart. I couldn't go on TV looking like white trash with fake snakeskin flakes on me," she says, brushing imaginary debris off her arm. Lambert has changed out of what she calls her usual "hillbilly" garb — a sundress and vintage cowboy boots — but still looks plenty country, wearing a denim shirt over a man's tank top and gold sandals with a pair of bright-pink shorts. The color matches her sparkly nail polish, her iPhone case, and those Chanel shades.

These days, Lambert may have the luxury of buying designer sunglasses, but it isn't something she will ever take for granted. "I do appreciate every single dollar I earn," she says.

Here's why: Early on, Lambert learned that life could be harsh. The firstborn of Rick and Bev Lambert, who worked as well-paid self-employed private investigators, she spent her early years in Van Alstyne, TX, outside of Dallas. "My younger brother, Luke, and I had a nanny; Mom and Dad drove new cars and had a brand-new house built," Lambert recalls. But the economy took a dip. "People didn't really have the money to spend on private investigators," she explains, "and my parents weren't getting enough work to keep up."

Lambert was 6 — "old enough," she says, "to feel the pain of knowing when something is totally wrong." Falling behind on their mortgage, "my parents lost everything they had...we were homeless," Lambert says matter-of-factly. "Our whole world turned upside down." Fortunately, an uncle took them in, and for two years, Lambert shared a room with her cousin and wore clothes sewn by her mother or bought at Goodwill. Leaving behind her old and more prosperous life, relocating, and attending a new school threw the sensitive young girl into a tailspin. "She would cry every day," her mother has recalled.

It was equally tough on Lambert's dad. "He went to a dark place where he felt like a failure," the singer remembers. "And we actually didn't really see him that much because he was always going back and forth to Dallas trying to get jobs. He was determined to get back on his feet, so it was hard for us to see him. He missed us, and we missed him, so much."

Although Lambert's mom had a first grader and a toddler to look after, she was equally dedicated to rebuilding the family business, providing her daughter with a valuable lesson about persistence. "I know it's not that they weren't working or trying. Sometimes you just get down on your luck," says Lambert. "And I learned so much from that."

A close connection to God helped keep the family together. "My mom always says I cut my teeth on the church pew," says Lambert, who was involved in youth groups and sang in the choir. Small jobs came along — sometimes her father even dug ditches for $4 an hour — and eventually, by the time Lambert was 10, the family was able to rent a small house in rural Lindale, TX.

"Dad was like, 'My family will never be hungry again.' And so he started a subsistence farm," Lambert recalls. "We didn't go to the store for anything but milk. My mom made bread and canned everything from the garden. We had chickens, pigs, and rabbits. My dad hunted. We literally lived off the land. There's something to be said for taking advantage of what God's given you."

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Living modestly on the farm, the family restored the sense of security that had suddenly vanished when they'd lost their home. With love and encouragement, Lambert blossomed. "My mom was always saying: 'Be whatever you want to be, but stick with it. Don't waver. Don't change who you are for anybody.' It was sewn into me to be a confident, strong woman," she says. From her father, she adds, she learned to be a good judge of character and "to always look over my shoulder."

Lambert's parents did not shelter her from their work, which they picked up again once they were on their farm. As investigators, they kept tabs on cheating spouses in marriages shattered by infidelity and, in worse cases, domestic violence. The Lamberts took battered women and children into their own home, and it left a lasting impression on their daughter, who realized what a solid union her parents had. "I saw my friends' moms coming in at 2 A.M. with black eyes," she recalls with a wince. "They'd share a room with me. What my family [gave them] was that initial first step: 'Get away from this crazy person, and get back on your feet.' I witnessed it firsthand."

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Lambert channeled the pain and pent-up fury she'd observed into hard-rocking songs that were game changers in country music. In the video for "Kerosene," which became her first big hit in 2006, Lambert torches the house of a cheating lover; in her signature song, "Gunpowder & Lead," she tells the story of a woman who's going home to load her shotgun and settle a score with the man who has beaten her.

This tough-as-nails stance continues to earn Lambert admiration and stir controversy. In the wake of Chris Brown's Grammy win earlier this year, she reminded the world via Twitter that the singer had assaulted his former girlfriend Rihanna. Later that week, before singing "Gunpowder & Lead" at a concert, she held up a sign that read Take notes, Chris Brown. "Where I come from, beating up on a woman is never OK," she said shortly after the concert, later adding, "I like to say what I think, and if it happens to push buttons, sorry."

Still, Lambert admits that life in the public eye can stress her out. "People always look for a reason to hammer you for something, whether it's your weight or your marriage. Blake and I have reached that point, and I hate that, but we need to be thankful to be out there living our dream, playing music for a living," she says. "If I complain about being apart, I think about military families and realize I have an amazing life. I'm so grateful for the people in my life: my family, my husband, my team around me, and my friends. The rest is icing on the cake."

As is true for many newlyweds, she concedes that her first year of marriage was rough. Shelton's father passed away in January. Then she lost a best friend and her childhood dog (Lambert is a "dog person"; she has a pet-rescue charity, MuttNation Foundation). And the couple hadn't really settled in. "Blake was in Los Angeles almost all the time. Everything kept piling up. We didn't even have all our clothes at the same house. After our anniversary came, it was like, 'All right, now we can start married life.' "

Lambert is looking forward to Thanksgiving, which marks the beginning of some well-earned time off with her guy. "Blake will be in L.A. working for The Voice," she says. "So I'll be buying pumpkins and hay bales somewhere in that crazy city and putting them on the porch. For me, that's how the holidays begin."

But for Shelton, the season starts much earlier. "Blake listens to Christmas songs all year long," she moans, "and sometimes I'm like the Grinch, saying, 'Dude, it's July — turn that off.' " On Turkey Day, however, she's happy to tune the satellite radio to classic country music for the feast, which has been at Shelton's place for the past three years.

"We're real traditional," Lambert says. "Football, turkey, and stuffing. Blake's mom makes ham and the best baked beans ever. My dad's been deep-frying the turkey, which is sometimes wild turkey, because we hunt."

Shelton can be found outside, manning the smokehouse, while Lambert fixes the sides in the kitchen. "I do the green bean casserole, with cream of mushroom soup and fried onions on the top, and a sweet potato casserole," she says. And, no matter what traditional desserts are served, Lambert also whips up the one that her husband is absolutely addicted to: her .

Lambert's Love Story

From Johnny Cash and June Carter to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, country music's most-fabled marrieds tend to be cut from the same cloth: He's the tough guy; she's the sweetheart. Lambert and Shelton, who won the Academy of Country Music Award for Female and Male Vocalist of the Year, respectively, in 2010 and 2011, turn that tradition on its head. "I'm a little rough around the edges sometimes," she concedes. "The best example I can set is to be real and show my flaws. I can be pretty intense, and I can be a downer."

Blake is the opposite, so good-natured it's almost ridiculous, she says: "He laughs at everything, and it's hard for him to be serious, which can sometimes be annoying. We balance each other out, though; he lightens my heart, and I rope him in."

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They met for the first time in 2005, performing "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" on Country Music Television's 100 Greatest Duets special. (Lambert had earned attention as a third-place winner on Nashville Star, a country version of American Idol, after spending her late teen years touring honky-tonks. College wasn't for her — it was always music, all or nothing, and "I freakin' did it!" she says with delight.)

Lambert had grown up singing that particular duet with her dad, and Shelton made her feel comfortable immediately. "That sense of humor and smile draw you in," she says. "He's one of those people who light up a room." Still, she has just one explanation for the butterflies in her stomach (they weren't due to nerves): "There was definitely chemistry." Looking back at the video, Shelton has said he realized he was falling in love with her right there on the stage.

But there was a huge hitch: Shelton was married to Kaynette Williams, his road manager. "People made assumptions that were not true," says Lambert of her attraction to a married man. The lessons of her childhood — the complications of love that she saw among her parents' clients — guided her. "We were honest with each other: We talked, we hung out, and we wrote songs a couple of times," she explains.

She didn't have to wait it out for long. In 2006, Shelton divorced. "It's never an easy thing to go through, but it happens every day. People fall in and out of love; they get divorced and remarried," Lambert says with her characteristic candor. "I didn't expect to find myself in that situation, but I just dealt with it. I think that God has a person for you; Blake Shelton is in my life for a reason. He's supposed to be my husband."

But neither was in a hurry to tie the knot. After his divorce, 29-year-old Shelton was gun-shy about marriage; at 22, Lambert was just getting her start as a musician.

So they saw each other when their schedules permitted. Lambert threw a surprise party in Texas for Shelton's 30th birthday; it was the first time she and her parents met his folks. "It was awesome," she recalls. "My family loves him, and his family loves me, and that's so priceless."

Their often long-distance courtship revolved around text-messages. "We're not really big phone talkers. I think it's good to have a bit of time to miss the person and to save up stories for when you get home," Lambert says.

In 2010, Shelton asked Mr. Lambert for his daughter's hand, an old-fashioned Southern touch that impressed his intended. "Well, ol' Blake finally got a brain!!!" Lambert famously tweeted, with a picture showing off her five-carat engagement ring. "And I didn't say no!!" They were married a year later on a ranch in Texas; the bride walked down the aisle in her mother's wedding dress and custom-made cowboy boots. The new king and queen of country spent their first anniversary at home. "That was our present to each other, because we are never home," she explains. "So we just hung out. We don't need anything else."

Keeping It Together

Lambert's grounded attitude extends to her self-image; she's proud of who she is. "I'm not naturally small," she says. "And I'm fine with that, because so many girls come up to me and say, 'Thank you for being normal-sized — it gives us hope that you don't have to be a size 2 to be somebody.' "

But whatever her weight is, Lambert wants to be toned and aerobically conditioned. It improves her energy level, her vocal capacity, and her confidence, she swears, but she admits that if she didn't have a trainer, she'd never do it. In addition to walking, jogging, and doing calisthenics, she also spars. "My trainer got me pink boxing gloves," she giggles. "He obviously knows how to manipulate me."

It can be a struggle to eat well, particularly on the road. "I live on a bus. You're just sitting there all day, and you start getting snack-y," she notes. "I don't keep chips, because I'll eat them all." Instead, she'll eat a slice of turkey or a handful of roasted nuts and crunch on carrots with a low-fat dip. If she happens to overindulge, no worries, Lambert says: "Every girl lives in Spanx; if they don't, they should."

Keeping herself physically fit may be important, but managing her emotional health is crucial. "If my personal life is out of order, like if I'm fighting with someone, it's really hard for me to pull it together," Lambert admits.

What sets her off? "I hate when people think I've changed," she insists. "My defenses really go up if somebody assumes that I'm any different as a person than who I was back in high school."

Lambert also has a tendency to be impatient with people. "I am pretty set in my ways and business-minded, so indecisiveness gets me bent out of shape. But I'm learning to take a step backward and evaluate the situation more carefully."

Prayer — just "talking to God as if He's sitting right here" is how Lambert describes it — also helps when she feels unmoored. "I act very confident, like I have it all together," she says, "but I have insecurities just like anybody else."

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Fortunately, she also has close friends — among them Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley of the Pistol Annies, Kelly Clarkson, and Reba McEntire — to keep her grounded.

"When I'm out of control," she says, "they'll be like, 'Hey, you need to come down.' " She's grateful for their honesty and takes it as a sign of their affection. "I really know how to love, because I was loved," she affirms. "My parents have been married 34 years, and I was taught that forever is forever. I was born with a certain amount of love in my heart, and when I let someone into my circle — not just Blake, but also my friends — I love hard."

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Still, she admits that it takes her some time to warm up to new people, who often are surprised that she is more guarded than the fiery, outspoken performer they've seen onstage.

"I suppose I'm more like my dad on that front; he's got this cynical exterior, but he's actually a big teddy bear inside," she says with a laugh. "He gets Good Housekeeping in the mail every month, because he says he wants to know the enemy."

Home on the Range

Every woman needs a place to kick back and recharge, and for Lambert, that place is Tishomingo, OK, smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. It's where she can be exactly who she is: "a girl who's a bit artsy but likes to hunt and fish," she says. Lambert bought a 700-acre spread about 10 miles and one zip code away from her husband before they were married. It has a fifties-era cabin that's so small that Shelton, who is 6' 5", can barely squeeze through the doorways, but Lambert likes hanging out by the pool she built there, and it's also where she keeps her prized five horses (two are standard size, while three are miniature, meaning they are about the size of large dogs).

Sometimes she'll spend all day at her place and then head over in her 2009 Ford F-250 King Ranch truck — the first new vehicle the star has ever bought, and one she swears she will drive "until the wheels fall off" — to cook dinner at Shelton's.

Afterward, they might have their definition of a date night, which consists of driving around back roads and singing along with the radio.

At 28, Lambert is not really thinking about starting a family anytime soon. "I don't want to raise a child on a bus or in L.A. I want to be a little more settled," she says, adding, "Part of me thinks I should try to plan it, and part of me thinks God has a plan for my life, so why would I ever try to maneuver that?"

Right now, Lambert is content to simply hang out with her husband and nest. Though she jokes that their having separate farms "will probably keep us married longer," she is looking forward to having a home that she can truly call "our place."

She has even come up with the perfect solution for the age-old dilemma of whether the toilet seat should be left up or down. "The first thing I'm going to say to the contractor is, 'I want two separate toilets and a urinal,' " Lambert says cheerily. "I think it's brilliant, if I do say so myself."

But the main thing she's eager to experience is just togetherness. "I can't wait to be looking back 10 years from now and seeing how far we've come and how much we've grown, what we've made it through and what we still have to go through," she says. "It's a life's work. We're going to get to know each other so much more as time goes by, because we're going to get to know ourselves." With that kind of wisdom and long-range view, it sounds as if they'll be enjoying that specially equipped house for many years to come.

A Peek Inside Miranda's Place

Her thoughts on housekeeping — and the allure of throw pillows

How is your house like your mom's house?

One of the best compliments Blake has ever given me was, "You really know how to make a house a home." I like country music on the radio and something cooking on the stove. When I'm home, that's what I do, because that's always what I've walked in to find at my mom's and my grandmother's.

And how is your house different?

At Blake's, there are a million deer heads on the wall. My mom would never allow that!

What makes a house a home?

You throw a Yankee Candle Company scented candle into a room, and immediately it's more homey; I like the cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and holiday scents the most.

What won't men ever understand about making a home?

I think throw pillows will always be a fight between women and men. Men do not understand them. And women insist on them. So every time Blake is like, "Will you hand me that pillow?" I'm like, "No, 'cause you hate throw pillows, but now you need it 'cause you can't see the TV."